This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Stephen Harper hints at reopening NAFTA

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has wasted no time in selling a free-trade deal he's just signed in South Korea, highlighting its benefits to a business crowd in Vancouver.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper listens while participating in a moderated question-and-answer session with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce in Vancouver on Wednesday. (DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

By Dene MooreThe Canadian Press

Wed., March 12, 2014

VANCOUVER—With the ink still wet on a free-trade deal with South Korea, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada would be willing to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement for the right price.

Harper stopped in Vancouver on his way home from South Korea on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the new agreement.

In a question-and-answer session at a B.C. Chamber of Commerce gathering, he said his government remains focused on building global trade, “particularly given that some of our traditional trading partners, like the United States, may not have the kind of growth rates that you’re talking about for a very long time to come.”

That said, the prime minister made it clear that Canada may be interested in renegotiating NAFTA with the U.S. and Mexico.

U.S. President Barack Obama originally vowed to open NAFTA during his first presidential campaign. American officials have again expressed interest in opening the 20-year-old pact, Harper said.

Article Continued Below

“We’re interested in that as well,” Harper said during a chummy interview conducted by chamber president John Winter.

“We just have to remind our friends that if we’re going to open it, we’re going to open it in a way that benefits both of us, not just the United States.

“The United States sometimes expresses the view that NAFTA has certain loopholes. We don’t really see them that way,” he said to laughter from hundreds of people that packed a hotel ballroom for the morning appearance.

“We happen to think this was a balanced agreement, but certainly if we can deepen it in areas like labour mobility, access of professional services and government procurement, these are big areas where — if we could open up NAFTA and expand its application— it would be very good for Canadian and American business.”

Harper said the more modern agreements, in particular the South Korean deal and another signed with the European Union last year, are more comprehensive.

The agreements cover investment, government procurement, intellectual property, labour mobility and a host of other issues beyond tariffs, he said.

Canada’s first such agreement with an Asian country is considered a major step in the Conservative government’s international trade strategy.

The federal government is pursuing trade talks with India and Thailand, but a Pacific-wide pact is the goal.

“We started with some small agreements and have moved to some very big ones,” Harper said. “Obviously, we continue to look for opportunities everywhere, but the big issue is Asia, and the big negotiations really is the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Closely linked to that is a bilateral agreement with Japan, he said. Until then, the deal with South Korea offers unprecedented access to that market.

“There are some very, very big potential wins here in making Canadian goods much more competitive in a market of 50 million people with linkages throughout Asia.”

Security was tight as Harper spoke. During the prime minister’s last appearance before a business crowd in Vancouver in January, a pair of climate-change protesters walked onto a stage behind him before being whisked away.

“I’m glad we got through this alone on the stage,” Winter said as he wrapped up the question-and-answer session. “I think B.C.’s reputation has been tattered.”

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com